Conclusion

It seems that the best case that can be made for large
numbers of colored Confederates is based on sloppy evidence
that cannot and does not convince the large majority of
historians. Many of the accounts that the promotors of
black Confederates rely on are ambiguous, partisan, or the
result of revisionism in history. Sometimes, however,
Rollins et al misrepresent the testimonies made, such as
ascribing loyalty to a slave who may just fear for his
hide, or by referring to blacks as "Afro-Virginians."

These untrained historians too easily derive favorable
conclusions from unclear sources and are sincerely under
the impression that they honor a large group that has
unjustly been left out of the major historiography,
motivated, it seems, by a union of reconciliation and
racial awareness of earlier historiographical periods.
Their remedy is the production of books and articles,
backed up by faulty scholarship, which lead to the
conclusion that large numbers of loyal blacks must have
accompanied the Southern armies and have actively handled
rifles.

A factor in the accumulation of such a number may be the
fact that the accounts of fighting slaves have been
concentrated into a growing number of essays, thus adding
to the notion that there must have been a significant body
of them. The scattered fractions of accounts and
indications were a much more realistic representation of
the amount of blacks fighting; indeed, one might say
fighting blacks were as scattered and obscure as the
sources initially were.

Now, most laymen are not historians and are much more
easily persuaded by the face value of documents, especially
when compiled into such neat volumes as the one published
by Segars and Barrow. They are, in addition, often swayed
by a present feeling of nationalism or regional pride,
which blurs skepticism. Thus the faulty scholarship serves
as an important source for annotation in online essays that
promote the notion that thousands of blacks did fight along
with their grandfathers, and that, indeed, the Civil War
was not about slavery after all. Not necessarily does the
South rise again, but apologia for the Lost Cause, for the
Old South, proliferates, and it soothes national memory.

Those championing an increase in the alotted number of
colored Confederates, concluding that the Confederacy was
worth fighting for by blacks, forget that often even white
people were moved to war by much less honorable motives
than the Cause for the preservation of Old South values.
Indeed, it seems that blacks fought mainly out of
self-interest and of care for their family.

Although the promotions of false notions is regrettable,
there is something to be said for an increased attention
for the forgotten, loyal blacks. Indeed, if anything can be
learned from the testimonies and sources, it is that blacks
are not to be treated as a monolithic group that
automatically sided with the North. Also, a careful
professional approach of the issue can serve to educate
people and correct the wrongful interpretation of this
element in history. Therefore, a solid case can be made to
give more attention to this obscure corner in history.

If The Littlest Rebel was pervaded with racist depictions
of blacks and slaves, the portrayal of Holt, the colored
character in Ride with the Devil, is one of the more
distinguished accounts of Southern blacks in movies. As a
former slave, he fights alongside his old neighbor and long
time friend for the South in Missouri. When his friend
dies, Holt admits that his entire purpose of fighting has
dissipated, clarifying that he did not fight for the South
perse, but out of loyalty to the one who bought his
freedom. All of which seems perfectly balanced from a
historical viewpoint.

Perhaps professional historians can learn from popular
culture and dig into interesting stories that have taken
place in the margins of history. This may, in turn,
influence other, large productions in popular culture, such
as The Last Full Measure, the final sequel to Gods and
Generals and Gettysburg, two films that both largely
ignored the many cooks and servants accompanying the army
of Northern Virginia.(43) Who knows, it might even feature a
few black companies at the end of the war-though they will
not be given orders by a colonel with blonde curls and blue
ribbons.